DB380

[Alpha7]

Looks like a retread glock

[Guest TNReb]

Couldn't resist the novelty and was looking for a pocket gun, so I bought the last one they had at Outpost Armory last Friday. Took it to the range on Saturday and put 125 rounds through it. I love the way it shoots and the sights are great. I like it much better than my son's P3AT. However, I didn't get through a single mag without some kind of jam. Sometimes, it jammed while I was trying to chamber one from the mag.

It looks like it is dropping the mag slightly and that is causing the misfeed. The only way to unjam it was to pull and pull on the mag until it finally came out. I called the company this afternoon and they couldn't have been nicer. I described the problems to the guy and he said "We'll get that straightened out for you." He took all my info and is sending me an email with materials to return it to them. I will repost when I get it back.

This was the display model and I really suspect the problem is with so many people looking at it and slamming the mag back in that it has done something to the mag catch. You can bet my next purchase will not be a display model, unless it is greatly discounted.

[daddyo]

www.gunblast.com just reviewed this and it was favorable. Im just not a .380 guy.

I'm with you - I just don't get the whole .380 thing at all.

[Guest Ae-35]

Gunblast , seems to think everything is great, looked at one of those 22cal. 45's, he says was a tacdriver, and a great trigger. He must have got a ringer, one I looked at the trigger was at least 12lb. Point is, I don't put a lot of faith in any gun writer's review. I would much rather hear from our forum users on a new gun!! JMO. My idea of a pocket gun is a snubnose 38, a G26, or a P11.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Ae-35

[daddyo]

Gunblast , seems to think everything is great, looked at one of those 22cal. 45's, he says was a tacdriver, and a great trigger. He must have got a ringer, one I looked at the trigger was at least 12lb. Point is, I don't put a lot of faith in any gun writer's review. I would much rather hear from our forum users on a new gun!! JMO. My idea of a pocket gun is a snubnose 38, a G26, or a P11.

Jeff and Boge are great guys, and I appreciate what they do, but Jeff and I part ways when it comes to the .380. The ballistics simply do not justify its use as a self-defense caliber.

[Steelharp]

Jeff and Boge are great guys, and I appreciate what they do, but Jeff and I part ways when it comes to the .380. The ballistics simply do not justify its use as a self-defense caliber.

Awful lot of bodies in the ground that disagree with you.

[daddyo]

Awful lot of bodies in the ground that disagree with you.

.380 can kill, just like the .22, but the ballistics indicate that it is not a fight stopper. Do you have time for the BG to bleed out or do you want to incapacitate him so that he cannot fight back?

It's simple physics, really.

[Steelharp]

It's simple shot placement, not physics. A friend of mine, Harold Teague, was running a market, the midnight shift. Harold will gladly show you the scars from eight .45 rounds that hit him. He still beat the robber to death with a baseball bat.

A .380 in Harold's head would have probably made it end differently.

[daddyo]

It's simple shot placement, not physics. A friend of mine, Harold Teague, was running a market, the midnight shift. Harold will gladly show you the scars from eight .45 rounds that hit him. He still beat the robber to death with a baseball bat.

A .380 in Harold's head would have probably made it end differently.

The adrenaline from the stress of an SD situation robs you of your fine motor skills, making shot placement extremely difficult.

What kind of .45 rounds were they? Sounds to me like your friend Harold got lucky and that the shooter was not very good.

Ballistics and simple physics tell me that a 230 gr .45 JHP is far superior to a 90 gr .380 99% of the time.

You want to trust your life to a non-service caliber, that's your business. Not me, brother. With the availability of small pocket sized 9mm semi autos, there is just no good reason to carry a .380 anymore.

Edited February 9, 2010 by DaddyO

[Steelharp]

Ballistics and simple physics tell me that a 230 gr .45 JHP is far superior to a 90 gr .380 99% of the time.

Common sense would tell you that, as well. I just think it's sheer testosterone rush when someone argues that a "non service caliber" can't do the job. It's also an asinine question to ask, "So, what caliber would you be ok being shot with?" so I won't ask it. They ALL WORK; a .45 in the leg will not be as effective as a .22 in the eye socket.

[Guest cjr]

Sure there are better calibers to carry than a .380 but,I wouldnt hesitate to carry one.

I do agree with Steelharp,if I were more accurate with my .380 than the .357 sig it would be my primary.I also would agree with Harold,with anything he said,anytime.

[daddyo]

Common sense would tell you that, as well. I just think it's sheer testosterone rush when someone argues that a "non service caliber" can't do the job. It's also an asinine question to ask, "So, what caliber would you be ok being shot with?" so I won't ask it. They ALL WORK; a .45 in the leg will not be as effective as a .22 in the eye socket.

I didn't say that it couldn't do the job; the .380 simply has no track record as a fight stopper. So, from that viewpoint the facts are that they don't all work.

Let me ask again, do you want to give the BG the opportunity to shoot back at you or attack you while he's bleeding out? If you really think about it you'll understand what I'm saying. Testosterone has nothing to do with it; service calibers have been proven to be fight stoppers with much greater frequency than non-service calibers. If you have proof to the contrary, please point me to it.

But if you can't, don't worry. I haven't yet found anyone who can defend the .380 with ballistic facts, so you're not alone.

Besides, if you aren't accurate with a .45, why would you think you would be with any other caliber?

[daddyo]

Sure there are better calibers to carry than a .380 but,I wouldnt hesitate to carry one.

I do agree with Steelharp,if I were more accurate with my .380 than the .357 sig it would be my primary.I also would agree with Harold,with anything he said,anytime.

I don't know Harold, but I do know some other folks whose viewpoint I trust. And all of them agree that non-service calibers are far less effective as fight stoppers than service calibers.

[lowbud]

Couldn't resist the novelty and was looking for a pocket gun, so I bought the last one they had at Outpost Armory last Friday. Took it to the range on Saturday and put 125 rounds through it. I love the way it shoots and the sights are great. I like it much better than my son's P3AT. However, I didn't get through a single mag without some kind of jam. Sometimes, it jammed while I was trying to chamber one from the mag.

It looks like it is dropping the mag slightly and that is causing the misfeed. The only way to unjam it was to pull and pull on the mag until it finally came out. I called the company this afternoon and they couldn't have been nicer. I described the problems to the guy and he said "We'll get that straightened out for you." He took all my info and is sending me an email with materials to return it to them. I will repost when I get it back.

This was the display model and I really suspect the problem is with so many people looking at it and slamming the mag back in that it has done something to the mag catch. You can bet my next purchase will not be a display model, unless it is greatly discounted.

I don't think it's got anything to do with being a display model. Best I can tell if you have a later serial number your probably ok.. earlier... your probably not. So far the most of the posts I have seen are good after the repair visit. I hope to have mine back this week.

[lowbud]

I look at the 380 like this.. it's the largest caliber pistol I can comfortably carry in my pocket no matter if i'm wearing shorts, sweats, jeans, or anything else for that matter.

something is better then nothing folks. ballistics doesn't really matter to me in this situation.

[Guest cjr]

I don't know Harold, but I do know some other folks whose viewpoint I trust. And all of them agree that non-service calibers are far less effective as fight stoppers than service calibers.

I don't know Harold either but, if he is still alive after being shot multiple times with a .45 I am going along with anything he says.

[Steelharp]

Besides, if you aren't accurate with a .45, why would you think you would be with any other caliber?

What?? I'm going to believe you made a mistake typing that; the way I read that says if you can't hit your target with a .45, you just suck and can't hit it with anything... if I'm misunderstanding that, please clarify.

Harold is a really, really good guy, tough as nails. His daughter Jennifer used to babysit my kids. I remember the day we were talking about the shooting; he opened his shirt, and man. What a mass of scars on his torso. He counted each one for me. Then he smiled that big, toothy grin of his, and told me all he had behind the counter was a ball bat. He told me, "I'm here. He ain't."

Service calibers have a much better probability of doing the job; that's why they're service calibers. ANY caliber is capable of doing the job, however.

[Guest Ae-35]

Jeff and Boge are great guys, and I appreciate what they do, but Jeff and I part ways when it comes to the .380. The ballistics simply do not justify its use as a self-defense caliber.

I really like Jeff's site and love to watch his shoot'n videos. That said, about everyone agrees that when a writer asks a gun company for a gun to test, it's "checked out" good before it's sent. That same attention is not always given to other guns sent out the door. Hence ,the difference between what we buy, and what he tests.

[daddyo]

something is better then nothing folks. ballistics doesn't really matter to me in this situation.

That's the "pop psychology" of all things gun-related and just doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Facts are facts.

[daddyo]

Service calibers have a much better probability of doing the job; that's why they're service calibers. ANY caliber is capable of doing the job, however.

That's a contradiction. If you truly believe service calibers have a much better chance of stopping the fight, not killing, but stopping the fight, then why would you carry anything else?

Using the baseball bat as an example, ask Harold if it would have made any difference to him if he'd had a butter knife that day instead of the bat. After all, they are both capable of doing the job, right? Which one would you rather have?

[lowbud]

That's the "pop psychology" of all things gun-related and just doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Facts are facts.

psychology has absolutly nothing to do with it. holy crap there are such things as gun nutz.

anyone want to be shot with a .380 today? ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. I didn't think so.

and that folks are the facts.

Edited February 9, 2010 by JHatmaker
Now now...no name calling...

[daddyo]

psychology has absolutly nothing to do with it. holy crap there are such things as gun nutz.

anyone want to be shot with a .380 today? ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. I didn't think so.

and that folks are the facts.

Give me some ballistic data that supports what you're saying, not insults. Personal attacks on your part simply prove that the facts are on my side.

I don't want to be hit with a rock, but that doesn't prove that it's as effective as a 158 gr .38 JHP. That's a bogus argument.

Have a nice day, sir.

Edited February 9, 2010 by JHatmaker

[Shima]

Alright guys. Keep it civil and friendly so I don't have to anybody. We're all grown ups here. Friendly debate is OK, but insults and name calling will not be tolerated, as thread drift is not either. I think this thread is supposed to be about the Glock clone 380, but we've strayed away from the original topic and gotten on this 380 vs whatever debate. Should I just close it here? I'm kind of curious about how this DB380 customer service issue is resolved and how the OP feels about the weapon when he gets it back. So lets stay on topic please. Thanks.

[lowbud]

Give me some ballistic data that supports what you're saying, not insults. Personal attacks on your part simply prove that the facts are on my side.

I don't want to be hit with a rock, but that doesn't prove that it's as effective as a 158 gr .38 JHP. That's a bogus argument.

Have a nice day, sir.

Now what did I say in my original post. I said, ballistics didn't mean anything to me. So why are you bothering me with this crap. you are the one starting the argument.

Anything that gives you an edge is an edge. I would pocket a rock to thro at someone over nothing at all. What data have I stated? I simply stated it was the pocket caliber of my choice and ballistics didn't matter to me.

Edited February 9, 2010 by lowbud
added more verbage

[lowbud]

Alright guys. Keep it civil and friendly so I don't have to anybody. We're all grown ups here. Friendly debate is OK, but insults and name calling will not be tolerated, as thread drift is not either. I think this thread is supposed to be about the Glock clone 380, but we've strayed away from the original topic and gotten on this 380 vs whatever debate. Should I just close it here? I'm kind of curious about how this DB380 customer service issue is resolved and how the OP feels about the weapon when he gets it back. So lets stay on topic please. Thanks.

Agreed!